Rin or Ling, the Life of a Thief Born a Prince
by FMA Yaoi Addict
Summary: Rin remembers flames and the stench of death, that is his past. Ling Yao, the prince of the Yao clan has been missing for years, when Rin runs into one of Ling's guards and she realizes that Rin and Ling were so similar that they could be twins. What happens? Will Rin accept that he, the heir of the Thieves, is Ling Yao, the prince of the clan he so despises? M for language.
1. The Thief's Past

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the idea! Oh, I own some of the characters but not many._

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><p>Fleeing footsteps echoed through the silent array of tents, the entire thing the boy could hear was his heart pounding in his ears, his panting breaths as he ran and the calls of the men chasing him. He leaped from a ledge, quickly scrambling back underneath it, holding his breath until the men had gone past. He burst out chuckling, sliding his mask up slightly to reveal his grinning mouth and pulled the apple he stole from the folds of his shirt.<p>

Taking a bite of the bright red fruit, savoring the way flavor burst into his mouth once his teeth broke the red skin. The sweet flavor of the juice trickled down his throat and he sighed, fruit was a rare treat even for someone like him. He grinned and slid out of his hiding spot, "Just what do you think you're doing?" a voice said and the child stiffened, moving the apple from his lips in favor of sliding his mask back down to hide his face.

He turned around and waved the apple around a bit, "Isn't it obvious? I'm eating an apple." He said with a tilt of his head, a boy his age glared at him from behind his own mask, a man walked out of the shadows behind him and looked distastefully at the thief boy. "That apple was for the prince of the Yao clan for the feast of when he is found. By stealing that you have gone against Xing." He said and the thief couldn't contain his laughter.

"For the prince of the Yao clan? Wow! This is the first time I've stolen something _royal_! Well to late now, it's my apple and I am not giving it up!" he said before taking off running, back down the way he had come from, grabbing the knife he had left behind to run from the guards. His white mask could be seen clearly now, it was shaped like a fox face, it was painted a bright shade of white with an orange triangle in between the ears, pointing to the middle of the mask, the chin of the mask was too painted orange, the mouth of the fox was painted the very same shade of orange and a simple line of string holding the mask to his face. His black hair shone in the moonlight, his bangs covered his right eye and the right ear of the mask poked through his hair, the rest was tied back with a brown strip of cloth.

The boy froze with a yelp when the guard trainee dropped in front of him, his face still hidden by his black, white and red mask. "You are a constant pest. I will not stand for it anymore." He growled and the thief sighed, his apple would spoil at this rate, so while humming he lifted his mask enough to take another bite of the apple. The trainee's eyes widened as he did so and the thief couldn't help but smirk.

"Want a bite?" he offered taking out his knife and cutting a good portion off of the fruit, holding it out to the trainee, who quickly shook his head and growled. "You dare offer me something that is not yours?" he hissed taking a step forward, the thief was quick to raise his knife, taking another bite of the fruit, finishing it in a few famished bites. He grinned again and tossed the core at the guard, covering his face completely with the mask.

"What is the name of the fool who dares steal from the prince of the chosen clan?" his opponent hissed, "Rin." The thief said with a tilt of his head and the guard blinked, shock showing in his eyes. "Rin? The Fox god of thieves?" he said and Rin nodded, grinning behind his mask.

"Tomoka always had a peculiar sense of names. Why I was named this is still unknown to me but I do not fear you knowing what I am called for you will not leave alive." Rin said rushing forward, knife in hand; he gripped the guard's mask, tugging before leaping back, the mask coming with him. The guard gasped and glared at Rin, the thief gaped at the trainee, "You're a girl? Come on! It's no fun fighting and killing a girl!" Rin whined dropping the girl's mask to the ground.

"You're lucky I took the oath of thieves!" he hissed before disappearing into the night, "Lan Fan. Where has that thief gotten to?" the man asked and Lan Fan turned around, "I am sorry Grandfather. He has gotten away but not before he said his name."

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><p>"Thief! Get back here!" a voice yelled and laughter came from the running teenage boy, though it was muffled slightly by the mask he was wearing, the pearly white mask seeming to glow in the sunlight, three line painted orange pointing downward to the middle of the mask. The eyebrows of the fox were too painted orange along with curved lines going down and in towards the middle as well starting from the cheekbone of any human face, orange ribbon was used to keep the mask tied tightly to the teen's face. "Too slow!" he mocked leaping into the air and running, his bangs lifting off the mask to reveal the right eye of it, his midnight black hair seemed odd next to his tanned skin, a white silk ribbon tied back the rest of said hair.<p>

The heat of the sun was sure to ruin his thief's make-up if he did not get out of the light, chuckling he disappeared through a patch of thickly woven brambles that managed to draw life from the sand of the desert. Humming the thief pulled a pear and peach from his shirt, sliding the mask up to reveal the lower half of his face, taking a bite of the peach and he twirling the pear on the end of his finger. He walked into a clearing with trees which was definitely a sight to see in Xing.

"You've got to stop doing that you know, Rin." A voice said and the thief froze, the peach half way to his mouth, "Hey! Lan Fan!" Rin laughed taking another bite of the fuzzy fruit in his hand, "I can't help it! Fruit is such a treat for me, I just can't not steal at least one piece when I see some!" he said popping the pit of the odd colored fruit out with his tongue and spitting it out across the clearing.

"I do not get it. I bring you enough food and drink to last you for the rest of your life yet you still depend on thievery." Lan Fan sighed and Rin shrugged, "It's how I was raised, you forget that." He pointed out sitting down in the middle of the clearing, taking out a pouch that hid wine, he popped open the cap and tipped the pouch back, parting his lips. After taking a small drink of the sweet strawberry wine he closed the lid and tucked it back into his shirt, if there was one thing good about the baggy Xingese clothes is it was easy to hide stuff in it.

"Strawberry wine? Again, stealing from the prince's returning feast..?" Lan Fan asked taking off her mask and Rin laughed again, "Once again, can't help it! After only having basic wine you get sick with the flavor so you prefer a better tasting wine, higher quality. Though the pouch sometimes saps the flavor, I can only wonder what it tastes like from the best golden goblet that the Emperor gets to drink from." He sighed lying back against the cool ground, the trees overhead made excellent shade to keep this area cool, Lan Fan dropped from the tree she had been crouched in, walking over to the teen's side, "You never fail to amaze me." she said reaching for the boy's mask, in an instant Rin was up on his feet on the other side of the clearing.

"Ah-ah-ah. No touching the mask." He said waving his finger at the girl as though he were scolding a young child, Lan Fan sighed and stood, "You've seen me without my mask and yet, over the years we've spent with each other I've never seen your face." She said and Rin frowned behind his mask, "You're saying you want me to take off my mask?" he asked and the guard nodded.

"Fine. But only for a minute." The life long thief said holding the mask in place with one hand as the other reached back and untied the ribbon, slowly pulling the mask from his face, Rin let out a breath forcing his eyes open. His sense of the dragon pulse was strong enough that he never needed to have his eyes open or eye holes in his masks, not that it mattered, he'd been born with his eyes closed and they stayed that way naturally. Lan Fan gasped and quickly pulled the rough sketch of what Ling Yao, the prince of the Yao clan, would look like if he were this age, she held it up and compared the thief to the drawing.

"What's that?" Rin asked tilting his head, though his hair was longer than the boy in the drawing it was definite, "Prince Ling. I am sorry for disrespecting you for all these years." She said crouching in a respective position, "Wha-? I'm no prince sweet cheeks, and my name definitely isn't Ling. Though Rin and Ling aren't all that different in pronunciation or spelling, so it's sensible that you could get them mixed up." Rin said waving his mask around in the air a bit before he moved to replace it.

"Grandfather! Come quickly!" Lan Fan yelled and the thief stared at her in disbelief, "You brought that old man? You promised that you'd only ever come alone!" he nearly wailed, quickly reaching back to tie the ribbon again before the mask was ripped from his hands, Lan Fan jumped back as quick footsteps announced that the older guard was here. "I trusted you! And I stopped stealing gold, silk and silver! And this is how you repay me? Bringing me food and wine so that I wouldn't starve to gain my trust only to smash it into a thousand pieces!" Rin yelled quickly drawing his Dao sword from a nearby bush, he took up a defensive stance as he faced Fu, the oldest of the Yao clan guards.

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><p><em>Review if you want me to continue.<em>


	2. Yao Palace

_Yay! Reviews rock! :) _

_Disclaimer: the idea is mine, nothing else. Lan Fan, Fu, Ling/Rin and Xing all belong to the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist_

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><p>"Grandfather, it's the prince! Rin's really Ling!" Lan Fan exclaimed, hiding her previous pained expression at his accusations, "Give me my mask!" Rin yelled glaring at them both, his eyes going back to their birth-inflicted slits, "My prince." Fu said taking a step forward but stopping as Rin pointed the curved sword at him.<p>

"I am no prince! You've got the wrong guy, all I want is to take my mask and leave!" he hissed, the orange thief's make-up on the corners of his eyes smearing as silent tears fell down his cheeks, "Don't you think I've been through enough today? Finding out the one person I trusted abused my trust just so that you two could drag me off to be executed?" he asked quietly, opening his eyes again to stare at Fu and Lan Fan, the guards looked at each other in stunned silence, the man suddenly shook his head, "You will not be executed, prince Ling. Come with us, your mother will be overjoyed to see you after such a long time." He said taking a step towards the thief.

"I TOLD YOU! I'M NO PRINCE! I'M JUST YOUR AVERAGE THIEF!" Rin yelled taking a step back, the leather strap that he was supposed to use to hold his Dao sword to his back shifting as he moved. Lan Fan moved closer as well, "Please, my prince. Just look at this drawing and at yourself. You will see that you are who you are." She said holding out the paper to the thief, cautiously said thief took a step forward motioning for the girl to put the paper on the flat side of the sword.

Lan Fan obeyed and Rin drew his sword closer to him, snatching the paper from the sword, he unfolded it and looked at the picture. Frowning he turned around and walked over to a puddle in between the roots of an oak, looking at his reflection, dark blue eyes opening wide as he looked from the drawing to the puddle. Rin took a shaky breath, it was him that was drawn on the paper, though his hair was down and shorter, but it was him, they were right he was a pri-.

"No dammit! Screw this damn drawing, that may look like me but it isn't me!" he yelled crumpling the paper into a ball and throwing it at the guards, his eyes glaring at them wildly, Lan Fan stepped closer to him again. "Li-" "RIN! MY NAME IS RIN! I AM THE SON OF TOMOKA! THE HEIR TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE THIEVES! THAT IS WHO I AM! I STEAL FROM THE ROYALTY, I FEED OFF OF THEIR RIGHTFUL FOOD AND USE IT TO FEED MY PEOPLE!" he yelled interrupting the girl he had dared call his friend earlier that day, Fu growled and stalked up to the thief, "You are Ling Yao, son of Solis Yao, grandson of Demetrius Yao. Son of Ren Yang, the Emperor of Xing. You're the heir of the throne of Xing!" He snapped and the thief jumped back away from the guard.

"NO! THE YAO CLAN HAS RUINED MY LIFE TIME AND TIME AGAIN!" Rin screeched, his temper growing short, he grabbed his hair with his free hand, holding it in an iron vice grip, he couldn't be the long lost prince. He just couldn't, that would mean his loyalty to the thieves was fake, but he _knew _it was as real as he was standing there. The sudden clink of metal hitting a rock snapped the thief from his flustered thoughts, he turned quickly and could sense a smoke-bomb, he growled and swung his Dao sword at it in an attempt to cut off the fuse.

He was not quick enough and the small grenade exploded, Rin groaned in pain, clasping his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the loud ringing echoing in his ears. A smoke-bomb combined with a flash-grenade, he would have to rely on his sense of the Dragon Pulse to tell where the guards were. He stood still and let his pulse return to normal before he leaped to the side as Fu tried to catch him in a headlock.

"What?" the elderly guard grunted as Rin landed softly on the ground a couple yards away, the thief grinned and slowly began walking away from the man, he chose to ignore the fact that he didn't know where Lan Fan had gone. Which Rin regretted the second he felt his legs get hit from underneath him, "No..." he gasped when he felt the sharp sting of a shoe hitting his hand and his grip on his sword faltered, he growled as Lan Fan pulled the sword from him.

Rin rolled to the side quickly and scrambled to his feet, this wasn't exactly working in his favor so it would probably be best if he ran away and that's what he was planning on doing. Up until he felt an arm wrap around his neck and a cloth cover his mouth and nose, the sweet smell that seemed to emanate from it made him feel lightheaded, _chloroform... _the thief realized just before his legs gave out and he lost consciousness.

Rin opened his eyes slightly and looked around tiredly, was he back at the hall of Thieves, no, his eyes opened fully as he sat up quickly, dark blue eyes widening and looking around frantically. He was in a palace, most likely the Yao palace, the thief tried to bring his legs underneath him so he could stand but the sound of chains shifting made him scowl. He pushed the blanket covering his legs to the side and growled, as he suspected there was a chain wrapped around his right ankle, Rin looked around again and spotted his sword not to far away.

He shifted closer to it and yelped in pained surprise when the chain was roughly tugged, Rin looked back and frowned when he saw Lan Fan sitting not to far away, the other end of the chain in her hand. "You're awake." she said and the thief rolled his eyes, "What's with you and pointing out the obvious?" he grumbled turning to face the guard, she tilted her head and gave him a bewildered look.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lan Fan asked and Rin snorted, shaking his head, "I'll explain, if you take the chain off." he said hitting said chain with his foot, the girl made a face and shook her head, making the thief groan. "Aw, c'mon, why not? I won't run off or anything!" Rin complained hitting the chain again, but harder this time.

"What do I have to trust your word?" Lan Fan asked and the thief looked at her incredulously, "Really? Wow, I thought the Xingese always kept their word, not to mention that if I, a thief, were to break my word not only would I lose every ounce of trust people have in me but my life as well." Rin said as he folded his arms over his chest, almost looking like he was pouting, "You're so childish. It's a wonder how you were able to survive being a thief." the guard sighed, shaking her head slowly before standing quickly when the door opened, Rin's head snapped over towards the door and he watched Fu and a woman walk into the room.

"Ling..."

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><p><em>o-0 Not as long as the last chapter but hey, I got it up! Review for more!<em>


	3. The Confrontation

_Been a while hasn't it? XD sorry about that but third chappie is up! _

_Disclaimer: Tomoka, Solis Yao, Demetrius Yao, Ren Yang I own, I'm not sure if those are the real names of Ling's parents and grandfather but yeah. Tomoka is one hundred percent mine :3 and the plot is mine XD_

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><p><em><span><strong>Last Chapter's final wordwords**_

**_"Ling..."_**

Rin once again reached for his Dao sword before freezing as a kunai was pressed against his throat, slowly he looked to the side and scowled at Fu. "Please, Fu! That's not necessary!" the woman exclaimed and the thief shot a glare at her, Fu didn't say anything as he stepped away from Rin, "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not Ling. Nor would I wish to be." he muttered watching Lan Fan with narrowed eyes as she picked up his sword, "Do you not think that I would recognize my own son? Tomoka did do a wonderful job of not letting you figure out your past, didn't she?"

The thief's head snapped around when he heard his mother's name pass through Solis' lips, "H-how did you know Tomoka was my mother? You were the one who ordered her to be killed weren't you?!" Rin's voice rose as he spoke, fury growing in his chest, the woman looked stunned at his words. "Why would I order her to be killed? She promised me that she would keep you safe and since you are sitting here now she did. I would not have my friend killed when she took you to safety when our palace was attacked by the Yei clan in an attempt on your life!" she said, her voice too raising with each word that passed through her lips, the thief scowled and kicked his leg above his head, Lan Fan gasped as the chain was ripped from her hand and when Rin knew he was free of her grasp he ran towards the window.

A sudden leg shot out and tripped Rin making him fall face first onto the wood floor, the chain once again was picked up and the thief glared up at Fu, who only gave him a scolding look. "I should have known you would make an attempt to escape if you lost your temper." the old guard sighed as he grabbed the back of Rin's shirt to pull him to his feet, "Don't touch me! Stop lying to me and admit it! You're just humoring me until you're ready to execute me!" Rin snarled making the two guards sigh and Solis give him a bewildered look, "Execute you? Ling why would we do that?"

About to run at Solis and strangle her, Rin faced her furiously trying his best not to let his fear show, "I'm the most wanted thief in Xing! Why wouldn't you execute me? I've stolen from the food for Ling's damn feast countless times! Hell, that's how I've lived for so long!" he snarled, knowing he was pushing them even though he wanted to live, he didn't want to die yet, he couldn't die yet, he still had to care for his sister or she would starve. The woman sighed and shook her head, "Do not use such fowl language. And that reminds me, we'll be late. Come along! Get him ready for the feast!"

Rin stared after her incredulously before looking at the two guards, she wasn't serious was she, he jumped and took several retreating steps as six or more servants came into the room. Each of them female and carrying something or other, one had a large metal tub, four had two pales of water each, two had some fancy arrays of soap, royal clothes and rags. "W-what?" the thief could only stumble back some more as Fu took the chain off his ankle then walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him, Lan Fan stayed silent as she climbed out onto the roof from the window and shut it as well.

Oh no they weren't! Rin watched with huge eyes as the servants set the tub down in the middle of the room and poured the water into it, "Here we are young lord, your bath is ready." one said with a kind smile and the thief raised his hands in front of him, shaking his head frantically and blushing, "I-I. N-no."

Another sighed and walked over, "No need to be so embarrassed my lord, it won't be anything we haven't seen." she said as she tugged the thief's hair out of its ponytail, Rin stumbled forward when the servant began trying to pull his shirt off, "I'm not Ling! Besides, I'm not letting some strangers bathe me!" he exclaimed before yelping as the other servants came up behind him and eventually tugged his shirt off. "Don't be so stubborn my lord. Your mother asked us to help you and that's what we'll do."

After ten minutes of objecting and struggling, Rin gave up and let the servants bathe him, for some reason he just knew Tomoka was laughing her ass off where ever she was. "There we are, get dressed and meet your mother at her chambers." one servant said and the thief distinctly remembered one calling her Ying, "All right." he muttered as they left, carefully he climbed out of the tub and dried off with the towel they had left him, afterwards he dressed in the clothes they had laid out, even though he disregarded the shirt in favor of just having the jacket.

Rin quickly dried his hair and coaxed a brush through it before tying it back in his usual style, taking a quick glance at himself in the mirror before leaving the room. _'I wish I could have my sword...that way I could feel at least a little safe...' _the thief thought sullenly as Fu led him to Solis' chambers, which she was waiting outside of for him, "Where's Lan Fan?" she asked before the faint sound of someone dropping from somewhere made Rin turn around quickly, Lan Fan bowed slightly and the thief was relieved to see that she had his sword.

"Good, now let's go." Solis said beginning to walk down the hall, Rin frowned a little and followed without bothering to try and keep his eyes open, he could see enough through the slits so he didn't need to worry. Chattering was coming from the doors that they were approaching and the thief felt extremely nervous, though he didn't understand why, the doors swung open and Rin flinched at the cheers that erupted from the gathered people. "ALL HAIL PRINCE LING! PRINCE OF THE YAO CLAN!" a single voice yelled out and many stood and bowed, the thief assumed they were supposed to be Ling's siblings, the other royal children, _'Well. Here goes nothing...hope I don't die...'_

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><p><em>:D I got the third chappie up! YAY! Once again not as big as I would have liked it to be buuuuut cliffhanger to get you to come read the next chapter when ever I get it up :3<em>


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